Current available horizontal processing conveyor systems for the electronic circuit board industry typically consist of a series of solid rollers and/or wheels mounted on rods to convey products through various wet/dry processes. This conveyor design realized certain limitations when it came to product size. Products less than approximately four inches long could not be conveyed from one roller to the next, falling instead between the rollers. An alternative method to convey small parts utilizes slots in the side rails (guides). The disadvantage to this method is the incomplete coverage of the processes along the edges captured by the slots. The industry is currently dividing up large panels into smaller pieces and a tool/apparatus to handle these smaller pieces was non-existent until now.
The apparatus and system disclosed herein successfully conveys and processes products smaller than the capability of conventional conveyor systems and thus fills a void in this emerging technology. Prior handling of small parts was done manually one piece at a time. Through automation this apparatus provides greater than 10X improvement in productivity. The apparatus being presented is currently processing IBM panel products and other substrate products. All articles which require delicate handling to avoid sensitive surfaces such as wafers, circuitized panels and ceramics can benefit from this invention.
It is an object of the invention to provide the capability for volume processing of small delicate parts.
It is another object of the invention to provide a processing system which exposes a maximum amount of product surface area to the processing treatment.